Index – Economy – City in the city – a futuristic smart district is being created in Budapest on an area the size of 12 football fields

More and more of Budapest’s rust zones are being turned into practically complete, new neighborhoods with residential properties, offices, shopping centers, commercial units covering all areas of everyday life, entertainment centers, parks, and playgrounds.

The latest such large-scale investment is linked to the Futureal group’s residential real estate development company, Cordia, which plays a decisive role in the domestic new housing market. There is no lack of experience, since the Futureal group was founded, it has been committed to the renewal of neglected city districts. Over the past 20 years, they have gained unique expertise in the implementation of long-term urban rehabilitation projects. This is evidenced by the development of the Corvin Promenade, or indeed the South Buda City Center (Budapest One office buildings, Etele Plaza).

“Through the creation of the iconic Corvin promenade, large-scale urban rehabilitation has become part of our DNA, but we are also active in this field in our foreign markets. These include the conversion of the former Modena clothing factory in Poznan, Poland, into a residential park, the Wilanow Smart City in Warsaw, and the mixed-use Great Hampton Street project in Birmingham, England, which also includes the rethinking of historic buildings. The Bank is also located in the area of ​​the latter – this listed, renovated building is also home to the headquarters of our British subsidiary,” said Gábor Kovács, Cordia’s chief architect.

The city of the future, by the best experts

This time, the company dreamed big in Budapest, on the coastal section of the Újpest Bay.

“We compete widely among the actors involved in the implementation, thereby choosing our partners from among the best specialists,” said Miklós Csikós, Cordia’s technical director.

As a result, the plans were drawn up by one of the world’s most renowned architectural offices, the Bjarke Ingels Group, and the urban planning was assisted by Krisztina Liszkay, the lead designer of Urban-Lis Studio. “This is how the construction concept was developed, which we discussed with both the district and capital municipalities – since we will be partners in the creation of public spaces,” said Gábor Radványi, Futureal’s chief architect.

After that, the planning split into two: on the one hand, there are comprehensive tasks for the entire area – such as landscape, road and public utility planning, as well as ensuring flood protection. The selection of the landscape designer – as this is a defining image issue for the project – took place within the framework of a concept design competition conducted with the involvement of three offices. This was won by Garten Studio led by György Szloszjár, the design of the flood protection system is carried out by TÉR-TEAM engineering office. The selection for the design of the buildings took place as usual in the case of Marina City during a concept design tender. In the south block of the project, the Dyer Group architectural office was the winner, but in addition to them, we also work together with Közti – Tima Zoltán’s studio, the Radius B+S architectural office, and the Puhl és Dajka Architects Office on the design of the residential buildings – added Gábor Radványi.

Obtaining the necessary permits for the investment went smoothly. “We submitted well-prepared and high-quality plans, so the authorization went very smoothly. The National Architectural Planning Council unanimously supported the project due to its architectural and landscape architecture certification, as well as their complexity and holistic certification,” highlighted Gábor Kovács.

“The project takes place in a very heterogeneous architectural environment. At the same time, learning from the scale problems of the surrounding developments on the Danube, we determined the proportion of our buildings, the width of the public spaces, and the extent of the park in such a way that the quality of life provided by the project stands out from what is usual in Budapest,” added Gábor Radványi.

The jewel of the urban fabric

The area itself is a neglected, infrastructurally abandoned part of the Danube, which at the same time has an excellent location, which in its new splendor “will be one of the pride of the district and the capital city”, said Áron Görög, Cordia’s sales director, who also highlighted the reasons for this:

• With the inclusion/qualification of the area in the rust zone and thanks to a well-thought-out plan from the regulatory side, it will undergo enormous development in the next 15-20 years and will grow into a jewel of the current urban fabric.
• Using the most modern urban development techniques, we will almost replace the area and give it back in a completely redesigned form. By building infrastructure that currently does not exist on the Pest side, we are creating a well-maintained, orderly environment accessible to everyone.
• Here, we dreamed of a part of the city that provides all services locally, from which – in a unique way among similar developments – the city center can be reached in minutes by metro, and where cars are parked underground.
• The proximity of the Danube and the fresh air coming in this direction from the forests of Pilis were all factors in the selection of the project location.
• Residents can feel like they’re on vacation, but they can do it all from the comfort of their own home, thanks to the ideal mix of water, car-free green space and community features.
• Only less than 40 percent of the area will be developed, 60 percent of the existing area will remain common green space.
• In this way, 90,000 square meters of the entire area will be returned in the form of green space that can be used, lived in and enjoyed by the district residents and anyone else. That’s the equivalent of more than 12 football fields.
• This is made possible by the fact that the less floor area a house occupies, the more space remains between the buildings, which the contractor can park and green. In a well-thought-out, well-designed residential area, next to the high-rise buildings, there is room for sports and recreation. Buildings that expand upwards create the same amount of living space in a smaller space, thus making it possible to design more airy, livable neighborhoods with larger green areas.
• 1,200 meters of direct waterfront for all of this; eternal panorama of Buda; facade distances of up to 50 meters; A+2023 classed buildings with outstanding energy efficiency, and A+ and A++ category apartments; as well as an unparalleled service environment and infrastructure.

The main goal of such a district rehabilitation is not to include new areas for construction purposes, but to transform worn-out or brownfield zones into livable, useful and accessible areas for everyone.

With its more than 2,500 apartments, the new city quarter can accommodate approximately eight thousand residents. This roughly corresponds to the population of Polgár, Lenti, Dévaványa, or Fehérgyarmat.

In cooperation with the district, the city and the state

The state regulation contributes to the project in a fundamental way by establishing the rust zone regulation and granting the rust zone status. This means that the 5 percent VAT rate applies to the apartments built here, and this sales tax can also be claimed back.

“Cooperation with the capital and the district is also extremely important, without which the implementation would not work. The long-term strategic need of urban planning is the renewal of areas, for which the private sector can provide meaningful assistance,” stated Gábor Kovács.

The XIII. district is also preparing to welcome those moving here, as the kindergartens and nurseries in the area are being renovated, and a new family doctor’s office has also been built nearby, which will be expanded. A kindergarten and a club house will also be built in the Marina City area, which will be the capital’s largest such facility providing community functions, where a fitness and wellness center, a coworking office space, and a community kitchen will also be created, and the children will have an indoor play area.

“Previously, the PPP (Public-Private Partnership) concept was developed for the sake of such collaborations. In the case of the company group, we prioritized the type of collaboration (for example, at Corvin Sétány) in which all parties involved benefit in the dimensions relevant to them. Urban development, including the development of a city district, moves on a different time plane than the construction and sale of a property. By managing larger areas at the same time, the city administration and real estate developer(s) can work together to find solutions to address problems relevant to the city – such as housing, utilities, commercial services, gentrification, or social problems,” he explained. Gábor Radványi.

Thinking in terms of decades, preparing for market waves

The greatest difficulty in a development of such a volume is the unpredictable economic environment. In the current market conditions – in such an inflationary and interest rate environment – all investments are risky. A complete urban rehabilitation project of this scale can take up to two decades to complete. In the case of a similar long-term investment, the investor must prepare for both good and bad real estate market periods.

“We dared to take the plunge because we believe that we have managed to design and implement a concept of such complexity and quality that it remains marketable, valuable and developable even in extreme market conditions. More than a decade ago, we went through such an unfavorable period (during the development of the Corvin Promenade), and at that time we were the only market player who dared to start and complete a development with more than 200 apartments. The practical experience gained during the implementation of the Corvin promenade entitles you to a lot of things in the Marina City development, which will stand the test of time. It’s a huge, complex product, we think about it in the long term. We are not reacting to the current market environment,” said sales director Áron Görög.

Pays off in the long run

Cordia designs its buildings in the spirit of environmental awareness and energy efficiency. This includes the selection of sustainable building materials.

The energy needs of the buildings in the city district are met by air-to-water and ground-probe water-to-water heat pumps, supplemented by the solar panel system installed on the roof, which, combined with smart energy management, results in economical, well-distributed energy consumption. All this means that the heating, cooling and hot water production energy costs of the apartments – at current prices – are not expected to exceed HUF 1,000 per square meter per year.

This editorial content was sponsored by Cordia.

(Cover photo: Cordia)

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